Conavirus......

I went to buy some essential supplies this week - curbside as always as the merchant does not require or request masks. In fact, the outside of the building has been covered with very mask hostile posters for some time and the store ignored our state mask mandate when it was in effect.

the posters were gone. The doors and windows were open for ventilation. And the proprietor told me he lost a dear friend - healthy, 42, and fully vaccinated - to covid last week.

all I could do was say I was sorry.

Thought you would enjoy the perspective from a friend who just returned from a trip to Africa out in the bush.

COVID 9/29- INDIANA population 6.7 million. 3,399 new cases, 33 deaths, 15,658 dead.
Zambia- population 19 million. 44 new cases, 0 deaths, 3,648 dead.
New cases might be undercounted. We saw lots of tests avail at airports…but you pay for them. Are deaths undercounted? Maybe. But again staff was surprised I knew people with Covid and a few who have died. But with this said every country we visited was level 4–do not travel high risk when we left. Botswana and S Africa still are. Zambia and Zimbabwe are level 2 moderate risk now—get fully vaccinated before travel.
Our temperature was taken more times in 2 weeks than in 2 years throughout Africa. Mask requirement indoors and outdoors. Social distancing is big. Hand sanitation is obnoxious. You mostly have no choice but to have this stuff put on you non-stop. Entering airport, entering security, boarding plane, exiting plane, spray in plane with all aboard, sprayed going through one sirport, camps too…too much sanitation. Welcome back to camp -sanitize. Pré-mesl sanitize..into museum sanitize. Get cart for luggage sanitize. PCA test required at every border crossing. Oh! And sanitize temp check. Always.
COVID seems to be more of an issue in big population centers. Were people compliant there? Definitely not in one area of S Africa. Should have paid more attention going through large village area in Zambia. We also saw a large # of people in line trying to get into a S Africa hospital. I have no words for this. Suspect Covid was largely responsible.
Camp #1 - do any of you even know anyone who has had Covid? Answer: 1 teacher in a village about an hour away. She recovered. In 2 years! Meanwhile I am notified of new cases of family, friends with this virus while away.
Oh…Botswana to reduce social gatherings banned alcohol use, sales, closed bars etc. Lifted on day 3 of our trip. It was in effect for about 4 months. They don’t have hospitals and staff to deal with people sick. True throughout Africa. So they approached it this way or have had restrictions on movement in the country etc.
Those we encountered in tourist areas/camps were vaccinated. Exception-camp 1. Seldom did staff approach us in a camp without a mask. At one camp we had to wear the stupid mask outdoors until at our table for a meal. Didn’t matter if no one else was around. We were covered if someone did approach. And staff did.
Masks Our option on safari. Masks sometimes on, mostly off. Sometimes I wore them as a filter for pollen and dust. Especially early am and evenings. Otherwise I cough and flip everyone out due to allergies. Not good. Don’t need to get quarantined for this. And I get a sore throat and scare myself.
Overall…given the fact we were mostly with vaccinated people, sleeping with outside air, eating in outside air and on safari driving/walking in outside air, I think risk was lower than here. More caution was exercised in Africa. Just my thoughts…for this style trip. No way were we going into villages/population centers.
Maybe we should put on masks and social distance? Maybe?

My brother was just talking about Africa the other day. He said while few are vaccinated they have far fewer covid deaths per capita than in the US because most people there are thin. By contrast 74% of Americans are overweight and 43% are obese. It is so common people don't even think about it. So if someone who looks like most Americans dies people don't say weight was a factor, but it probably was.

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Originally Posted by Yppej

My brother was just talking about Africa the other day. He said while few are vaccinated they have far fewer covid deaths per capita than in the US because most people there are thin. By contrast 74% of Americans are overweight and 43% are obese. It is so common people don't even think about it. So if someone who looks like most Americans dies people don't say weight was a factor, but it probably was.

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Yes, Sanjay Gupta said the "diseases of affluence" was a factor in COVID risk, but just a risk factor. The people I know who died of COVID were far from affluent and not obese--i.e., "they didn't do it to themselves." I do believe that judgement has no role in COVID policy. We are all in this together.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Yes, Sanjay Gupta said the "diseases of affluence" was a factor in COVID risk, but just a factor. The people I know who died of COVID were far from affluent.

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What countries did the people you know who died of covid live in?

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Originally Posted by Yppej

What countries did the people you know who died of covid live in?

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The U.S.

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Originally Posted by catherine

The U.S.

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In the US if you're not affluent it's harder to eat a healthy diet with fresh produce and easier to subsist on cheap processed foods. So while the people you knew who died of covid weren't affluent it doesn't necessarily follow that they escaped the effects of the sad SAD (standard American diet).

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Originally Posted by catherine

"they didn't do it to themselves." I do believe that judgement has no role in COVID policy. We are all in this together.

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Possibly you could make this argument pre-vaccine. Now if you can get a vaccine and you won't you absolutely did do it to yourself, and you're not doing your part, so we're not in it together because you're bowing out.

On 9/11 just under 3,000 people died. And look at how we responded to that. Anyone who has taken off their shoes at an airport or had to show their driver’s license to enter an office building, recently knows that we’re still responding to it. Covid has killed 700,000 people and our response has been half-assed and from a lot of people a shrug of the shoulders at exponentially more harm. It’s baffling.

And you with your anti masking is just as bad as the anti vaxxers https://youtu.be/ltjBT_TuUVA